Yuletide Carols

After I became a Wiccan I couldn't bear the thought of playing Jesus-y songs during my Yuletide. Or, for that matter, very materialistic songs. I hate "Santa Baby" with a flaming passion. Anyway, a few years ago I started aggressively looking for proper Yuletide carols. I love listening to great holiday music. I was in bands and orchestras throughout most of my growing-up years after all.

Anyone who has tried to do this before knows that they'll find a lot of Christian Christmas songs with Pagany lyrics. You know, "God Rest Ye Merry Paganfolk," "Dancing in a Wiccan Wonderland," "Share the Light" to the tune of "The First Noel." Pass. They bother me because they feel like mockery. It's okay sometimes, depending on how it's done but mostly I wanted something more genuine. And in any case, you can't find mp3s for any of these.

So how did it go? Terrifically, actually. I really don't understand it when other Pagans say that it's so hard to find non-Christian holiday songs. You just need to know where and how to look.

So as a present to all of you, here is my Yuletide carol playlist. It would have taken forever to find links for all of these, but rest assured that I found all of these on the Internet. Some are from amazon, some are from bandcamp, and some are from free music blogs. You could probably tell that my music tastes generally fall into the indie/folksy camp. If you guys know any other great Yuletide songs feel free to leave them in the comments!

Carols that are either overtly Pagan or about the Winter Solstice:

"Lady Greensleeves" -- Julianne Marx and Craig Olson
"Ring Out Solstice Bells" -- Jethro Tull
"Patapan" -- Damh the Bard
"Solstice" -- Andy Ditzler
"The Cutty Wren" -- Damh the Bard
"Santa Claus is Pagan Too" -- Emerald Rose
"Bold Orion" -- Susan Mckeown and Lindsey Horner
"Holly, Ivy, and Rose" -- Tori Amos
"Solstice Night" -- Julianne Marx and Craig Olson
"Wintry Queen" -- Coyote Run
"Hunting the Wren" -- Steeleye Span
"On Midwinter's Day" -- Damh the Bard
"The Longest Night of the Year" -- Mary Chapin Carpenter
"Winter's Carol" -- Tori Amos
"The Winter King" -- Damh the Bard
"Thank You Sunshine" -- Zucchini Brothers
"Rozhanitsa" -- Julianne Marx and Crag Olson
"The Christians and the Pagans" -- Dar Williams (although I have to admit that I think Darryl Purpose's cover is better than the original.)
"Wintergrace" -- Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum

Carols that could be about either Yuletide and Christmas:

"Deck the Halls" -- 11 Acorn Lane
"Here We Come A-Wassailing" -- Kate Rusby
"Walking in the Air" -- Chloe Agnew (If you grew up watching The Snowman you know this song.)
"The Boar's Head Carol" -- Katie McMahon
"The Wassailing Song" -- The Grizzly Folk
"Dance with the Sugar Plum Fairy" -- Pentatonix (or really anything from The Nutcracker.)
"Patapan" -- Heather Dale
"Mistletoe" -- Indigo Girls
"Frosty the Snowman" -- Fiona Apple

Wintry Carols:

"The January Man" -- Bert Jansch
"Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!" -- Emilie-Claire Barlow
"Wishes" -- The Bird and the Bee
"Congratulations (A Happy New Year Song)" -- Pink Martini
"The Hounds of Winter" -- Sting
"Winter Song" -- Ingrid Michaelson
"Winter Solstice" -- Jordan O'Jordan
"Tracks in the Snow" -- The Civil Wars
"Song for a Winter's Night" -- Domestic Crisis Group (The version by Sarah McLachlan is probably the most famous.)
"Aspenglow" -- Lovespirals
"Sleigh Ride" -- She & Him
"Baby It's Cold Outside" -- Ray Charles & Betty Carter
"White Winter Hymnal" -- Pentatonix
"My December" -- Scala & Kolacny Brothers
"Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)" -- Laura Marling
"The Atheist Christmas Carol" -- Vienna Teng

I know it's for Christmas but I'm keeping it anyway:

"The Bells of Dublin/Christmas Eve" -- The Chieftains
"Jingle Bells?" -- Barbra Streisand
"Christmas is Interesting" -- Jonathan Coulton
"I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus" -- Amy Winehouse
"This Endris Night" -- Heather Dale
"Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake" -- Robbie O'Connell
"You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" -- Amy Mann
"Feliz Navidad" -- Jose Feliciano (and another version by Sea of Bees.)
"Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24" -- Trans-Siberian Orchestra (a.k.a. the hard rock Carol of the Bells.)
"River" -- Rosie Thomas

Songs I associate with the season:

"Auld Lang Syne" -- Salsa Celtica (and another version by Pink Martini.)
"When the River Meets the Sea" -- John Denver with the Muppets
"Here Comes the Sun" -- Yo-Yo Ma (The Beatles version sounds more appropriate for Summer Solstice to me.)
"Give a Little Bit" -- Supertramp
"To Try for the Sun" by Donovan

Naturally, these songs will inspire some names:

Carol

Song

Solstice

Greensleeves

Marx

Olson

Jethro

Wren

Damh

Bard

Emerald

Rose

Orion

Holly

Ivy

Amos

Queen

Coyote

Sunshine

Rozhanitsa

Dar

Wintergrace

Acorn

Chloe

Plum

Pan

Heather

Indigo

Mistletoe

January

Emilie

Wish

Bird

Ingrid

Jordan

Fiona

Apple

Snow

Aspen

Glow

Ray

Hymnal

December

Vienna

Chieftain

Bell

Jonathan

Amy

Fogarty

Feliz

Navidad

River

Denver

Donovan

And here are some lovely combos:

Donovan Hymnal

Wren Solstice

Jethro Denver

Amy Wintergrace

River Navidad

Ingrid Bird

Name Magpie: New Names for All

I have finished my classes! I have my TEFL certificate! Now I have to go job hunting. I know I've been quiet, but all through my personal madness I've kept my eye out for new gems:

Indre. I forget where I first saw this, but I believe whatever I was reading was about France in some way. I thought that this was a French form of India. It's actually the name of a river. It might also be a Norse name.

Gotham. This is the name of Deepak Chopra's son. Obviously, my first thought was Gotham City but somehow I don't peg Deepak Chopra as a comic book fan. My theory is that it's a respelling of Gaotam, meaning "one who dispels darkness," but I'm not certain.

Dorigen. Another one from Appellation Mountain. Dorigen is a character in The Canterbury Tales, a book that I have not gotten around to reading yet.

Annelore. I've been lusting after these books for a while, but I'm didn't pay attention to the author's name before. It's either a variant of Anna or it's Hannelore without the H, depending on who you ask.

Bellafaye. A smoosh-name of Bella and Faye meaning "beautiful fairy," found over here. It does remind me a bit of Harry Belafonte. You know who Harry Belafonte is. Trust me.

Fernway. From The Beauty of Names, it's apparently the name of a film character played by Lena Horn.

Suchart. Also from The Beauty of Names, this is a Thai name meaning "born into a good life."

Rime. This is used as a place name for a lot of fantasy franchises. It's an old word that roughly means "frost." Rime is still sometimes used as a word in Scotland, but it has become obsolete elsewhere. It sounds like "rhyme."

Matisse. Of course I've heard the name Matisse before. I did major in fine arts after all. But this was the first time I've seen it on a little girl.

Virtuous Names

Name blogs are usually filled with posts about virtue names this time of year. At least the ones written by Americans are. That's because Thanksgiving is coming and many people are reminded of the Puritans and all of the strange word-names that they liked to use. Well, Grace and Hope aren't that strange, but Fly-fornication and  Job-raked-out-of-the-ashes certainly are.

While I am definitely not a fan of the Puritan belief system, I am a fan of many of the names they used. Oceanus and Peregrine are two of my personal favorites. And I do like the idea of naming a child after a core value (so long as they are not weird, sexually repressive values like Chastity and Modesty).

So naturally, I'm inspired to write a list of virtue names. Of course most are a little unusual, but this is me we're talking about here.

Fortitude ("courage in pain or adversity")

Merit

Clemency ("mercy")

Comfort

Concord ("agreement or harmony between people or groups")

Brave

Bravery

Mirth

Charm

Eloquence ("fluent or persuasive speaking or writing")

Resolute ("purposeful, determined, unwavering")

Bravura ("great technical skill")

Virtue

Remember

Remembrance

Silence

Love

Verity ("truth")

Courage

Honor

Independence

Charisma ("compelling attractiveness or charm")

Candor ("honesty")

Freedom

Wisdom

Unity

Noble

Resilience ("the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties")

Peaceful

Makepeace

Reason

Clarity

Revere

Valor

Prudence

Truth

Credence ("belief or acceptance that something is true")

Placid ("calm")

Desire

Jolly

Liberty

Tenacious ("persisting in existence, not easily expelled")

Felicity ("happiness")

Amity ("a friendly relationship")

Gravitas ("dignity or seriousness")

Sage ("wise")

Bliss

Glory

Loyal

Prosper

Justice

Temperance ("moderation or self-restraint")

Merry

Solace ("comfort in times of distress")

Wonder ("desire or curiosity to know something")

Zeal ("great energy or enthusiasm")

Pride

Levity ("humor or frivolity")

Lively ("full of life and energy")

Aspire ("direct one's hopes or ambitions toward achieving something")

Tranquil

Integrity ("the quality of having strong moral principles")

Providence ("the protective power of God or nature")

Radiance

Lucky

Mighty

Gratitude

Ardor ("enthusiasm or passion")

Sagittarius the Archer

"Centaur at the Village Blacksmith's Shop" by Arnold Bocklin

 

"Why not seize the pleasure at once?"

--Jane Austen, author and Sagittarius

Many modern Pagans prefer to pick names based on astrological signs. Yes, I know I just finished doing a series of posts very similar to this on the old blog, but this time I'm not limiting myself to thirteen names. Llewellyn's Complete Book of Names by K. M. Sheard is an excellent resource for finding names to go with specific astrological signs, so if you want even more options than the ones I list here go find that book.

Today, the sun enters Sagittarius. Sagittarius usually runs from November 22 to December 23 depending on the year. The symbol of Sagittarians is the centaur. In Greek mythology centaurs often give into their animalistic impulses, but they are also wise, adventurous, and brave. These are qualities that Sagittarians embody. Sagittarians are generally easygoing people that have no problems making friends wherever they go. They love to learn and have a great sense of idealism. However, Sagittarius is a fire sign, so they can have a nasty temper. Their blind faith in the goodness of the world can get them into trouble, and their need for adventure can make them seem irresponsible.

Archer names:

Archer
Bow
Bowman
Arrow
Artemis
Robin
Apollo
Cupid
Niko
Rama
Arjuna
Katniss (I couldn't resist.)

Horse names:

Eponine
Kishore
Phillip
Phillipa
Rosalind
Lorimer
Hippolytos

Adventure/travel names:

Peregrine
Journey
Odyssey
Rover
Sojourner
Faramond
Rumer
Atlas
Gypsy
Meander
Walker
Palmiro
Palmer
Beatrix

Fire Names:

Draco
Drake
Seraphim
Seraph
Seraphina
Phoenix
Sirius
Blaze

Time names:

November
December
Winter
Yule
Solstice

White, blue, and purple names:

Blue
Azure
Sapphire
Turquoise
Bianca
Albus
Leocadia
Gwen
Albion
Haku
Lavender
Plum
Viola
Violet

Attribute Names:

Admetus ("untamed")
Noble
Junius ("youth")
Wilder
Wilde
Cleo ("fame, glory")
Verabel
True
Truly
Verity ("truth")
Fortuna ("lucky")
Prosper
Fabrizio ("craftsman")
Fabrice
Wisdom
Joy
Lively
Allegra ("cheerful, lively")
Levity

Other Ideas:

Gita
Snowden
Isotta
Ballad
Wolf
Juniper
Raphael
Franco
Onyx
Jove
Venice
Fifer
North
Romulus
Romilly
Fern
Ganesh
Aisling
Edward
Malachite
Reverie
Otter
Paris

The Witch's New Year

"Faust" by Luis Ricardo Falero

A Blessed Samhain, or Witch's New Year, to you!

First of all, how does one pronounce Samhain? I still occasionally slip into pronouncing it like "sam-hain," which is embarrassing. Neil Gaiman went on a talk show and joked about "Sam Hain: Private Eye" and now I can't get it out of my head. Anyway, I've heard that in Ireland it's "sow-in," in Wales it's "sow-een," and in Scotland it's "sav-en." And that's not even all of the ways to say it. Personally, I try to do the Irish pronunciation.

Samhain (Gaelic for "summer's end") is the most important sabbat for Wiccans and the most magical time of the year. It is the third and final harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year. It was a holiday celebrated by the Celts as a way to herald the coming winter and honor those who had passed. It is believed that the dead walk amongst the living on this holiday, and the tradition of leaving offerings of food for them is very old.

There is no specific deity for this season like there was for Lughnasadh and Mabon. In Wiccan tradition, the Horned God (a.k.a. the sun) dies on this day, so generally Samhain is all about the Goddess. Pagans honor crone goddesses on this season, and also various deities of death.

A lot of the time, Samhain and Halloween traditions are mixed together. Aside from the more common Halloween traditions that everyone is familiar with, here are a few ways in which Pagans celebrate Samhain.

• Samhain is a festival in which Pagans honor the ancestors, or the "beloved dead." Altars usually include the photographs and belongings of those who have passed away. Candles are left on windowsills to show loved ones the way back home. Apples are left on grave sites and at cemeteries.
• It's also time for yet another feast. Traditional foods in a Samhain feast include pumpkin, turnips, beats, apples, pomegranates, potatoes, popcorn, gingerbread, beef, poultry, and nuts. Some people prepare food that their beloved dead enjoyed. One plate of food would be left for the dead, either at the altar or the head of the table.
• Samhain is considered a great time for divination and meditation. Fun fact: using divination to find out who your future husband will be used to be so common on Halloween that at one point it was considered a "women's holiday." The game of "bobbing for apples" comes from an old divination practice. The apples would be hung from trees or the ceiling instead of floating in a barrel of water.
• You know, if it's a Pagan holiday you should just assume that fire is going to play a role somehow. One of the things that the Celts did on Samhain was light bonfires, and that tradition still survives. Sometimes Pagans write habits, feelings, or activities that they wish to let go of on a piece of paper and cast them into the fire. Other times they simply circle around and tell stories.

There are a lot of wonderful, witchy names that can be inspired by this season, but here are just a few:

Mythical beings associated with the season:

Lilith (Jewish)

Hecate (Greek)

Pluto (Roman)

Aradia (Italian)

Cerridwen (Celtic)

Odin (Norse)

Nicevenn (Scottish)

Anubis (Egyptian)

Pomona (Roman)

Persephone (Greek/Roman)

Kali (Hindu)

Nephthys (Egyptian)

Morana (Slavic)

Osiris (Egyptian)

Morrigan (Celtic)

Thanatos (Greek)

Rhiannon (Welsh)

Other suggestions:

October

Octavian

Ottavia

Octavie

November

Hallow

Autumn

Autumnus

Harvest

Night

Nox

Nyx

Midnight

Raven

Luna ("moon")

Apple

Marigold

Sable

Noir

Ebony

Jet

Crimson

Orange

Spirit

Circe

Evening

Menos ("spirit")

Remember

Remembrance

Opal

Cypress

Hazel

Enid ("soul" or "life")

Dusk

Faline ("cat-like")

Onyx

Silver

Jack

Dittany

Thistle

Belladonna

Vaidote ("ghost-like")

Elder

Mist

Grey

Secret

Surrender

Melanie ("black, dark")

Rowan

Shadow

Obsidian

Esmeray ("dark moon")

Samantha

Isra ("night journey")

Olaf ("ancestor's descendent")

Alma ("soul")

Miyako ("beautiful night child")

Fun combo time:

Sable Pomona

Jack Silver

Rowan Grey

Lilith Esmeray

Samantha Rowan

Octavian Nox

Aradia Raven

Rhiannon November

Halloween Misgivings

Since I want to talk about more than names here, I feel like I can discus a topic that I have very complicated feelings about. As a Wiccan, how much should I really care about Halloween?

Obviously, I care about Samhain. It's arguably the most important Sabbat on the Wheel of the Year. But contrary to popular believe, they're not the same holiday. They're not even on the same day period. Samhain is on November 1.

Don't believe me? Think about it. All of the Wiccan holidays are evenly spaced in reliable month-and-a-half long increments. They're never at the end of a month, they're always in the middle or the beginning. Halloween is Samhain Eve. So technically a Pagan could celebrate both Halloween and Samhain as completely separate holidays. But most don't. They lump them together.

There really isn't much that's Pagan about the modern American Halloween. It's true that the Celts celebrated a harvest festival at around the same time, and that it was associated with the dead. But there's no clear evidence that they dressed in costumes. They did not go from door to door begging for treats. Being "scared" or "scary" had no part in it. The only detail that ties the two holidays together are the harvest foods.

I've been thinking a lot about this recently. As I've mentioned before, I'm planning on moving abroad. Apparently, Halloween is not as universal as I had assumed it was. I expected Asia and Africa to not have a Halloween, but it's not celebrated in most parts of Europe and South America either. Aside from the United States and Canada, it seems like it only has deep roots in England and Ireland (and, of course, Mexico has Dia de la Muerte). Almost everyone else sees it as an annoying, commercialist American thing. I am older than Halloween celebrations in Germany. Should I start a family in a foreign country, my children could possibly never celebrate Halloween.

I didn't used to be this cynical about this holiday. I used to love it when I was a kid. But Halloween has lost it's childlike wonder since then, and I don't think it's my imagination. Despite the fact that we are spending more money on this holiday than ever before, the number of trick-or-treaters is lower and lower with every passing year. It's evolving into more of an adult holiday. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Halloween is considered by many to be a Pagan holiday, and there is a grain of truth in that. It's also a Catholic holiday. But mostly it's...nothing. So I don't feel like I would be a bad Wiccan by not paying attention to it.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a Samhain name round-up.

Scorpio the Reborn

"The Zodiac, Scorpio" by Erte

"You know what charm is: a way of getting the answer yes without having asked any clear question."

--Albert Camus, author and Scorpio.

Many modern Pagans prefer to pick names based on astrological signs. Yes, I know I just finished doing a series of posts very similar to this on the old blog, but this time I'm not limiting myself to thirteen names. Llewellyn's Complete Book of Names by K. M. Sheard is an excellent resource for finding names to go with specific astrological signs, so if you want even more options than the ones I list here go find that book.

Today the sun switches to a sign that is very dear to my heart since most of my astrological chart is almost nothing but Scorpio and Aries. Scorpio lasts roughly from October 23 to November 23. This sign is symbolized by the scorpion, but also the eagle. In the olden days, Scorpio was associated with death and was therefore an unlucky sign to be born under. It's not for nothing that the height of Scorpio's power is on Samhain. Since then, we've become more enlightened and Scorpio now represents rebirth. Scorpio is the most fiery of the water signs. People born under this sign are known for their intense emotions and for embracing the darker side of life. Their personalities can be very catlike in that they do what they want to do when they want to do it. Scorpios also have a tremendous amount of power, and are not easily intimidated. On the negative side, they can be pessimistic and overly serious. Once they learn optimism, they can have amazing regenerative energy.

Death/rebirth names:

Phoenix
Wren
Viva ("live")
Osiris
Pluto
Persephone
Dusk
Dawn
Chrysalis
Jivan ("life")
Ambrose ("immortal")
Raven
Zoe ("life")
Valkyrie
Anastasia ("resurrection")
Isis
Isadora
Isidro
Serpentine
Vivienne ("alive")

Water and (to a lesser extent) fire names:

River
Ocean
Oceanus
India ("river")
Rain
Delphine ("dolphin, womb")
Delphino
Coral
Coraline
Tempest ("storm")
Rosmerta ("great provider")
Coventina
Mortimer ("still water")
Lotus
Tallulah ("leaping waters")
Merlin ("sea fortress")
Kittiwake
Undine ("wave")
Dover ("the waters")
Rumi ("current/flow" or "water")
Leviathan ("sea monster")
Ember
Draco

Time names:

October
Octave
Octavia
Octavian
November
Autumn
Autumnus
Hachi ("eight," because it's the eighth sign.)

Red, blue, and green names:

Roux
Ruby
Auburn
Fox
Blue
Azure
Turquoise
Sappho ("sapphire")
Forest
Jade
Viridian ("green")
Emerald
Midori ("green")

Attribute names:

Belladonna ("beautiful woman")
Secret
Rune ("secret")
Constant
Constance
True
Truly
Fortuna ("fortunate, lucky")
Maeve ("intoxicating")
Pia ("pious")
Mohandas ("bewitching")
Mohan
Boniface ("good fate")
Theodoric ("ruler of the people")
Velda ("power, rule")
Odysseus ("to hate")
Ulysses
Odin ("inspiration, rage, frenzy")
Vera ("true")
Verabel
Verity
Perseverance

Other ideas:

Opal
North
Wolf
Wolfgang
Marceline
Berry
Natalie
Thor
Thora
Faline
Cloud
Lulu
Aquilo
Caspian
Bryony
Lorelei
Audra
Howard
Firebrace
Edward
Chester
Alexander
Alexandra
Alastair
Ivy
Katherine
Whisper
Eve
Balthazar
Faramond